My Journey Into The World of Bread Baking – May 2025
I know I know the trend of making homemade bread has been around for a while. I wasn’t really into it until I was. It just seemed like people were a little to into their starters or getting upset about what ingredients people would use.
When I decided to try to make homemade bread there were 4 criteria that i had with finding a recipe:
1. It had to be a simple recipe that didn’t have to many steps (low amount of ingredients and no fancy bread machines/pans).
2. It can not be a sourdough bread (I’m not going to be feeding a sourdough starter every day. I’m all for other people doing that, but it’s not my journey).
3. It didn’t have be be planned out more than 5 hrs in advance (between proofing and baking).
4. I didn’t want to have to knead the bread.
The first recipe that I tried was the Le Creuset No Knead Dutch Oven Bread. When I read the recipe it looked like it didn’t take that long. However, after starting the dough I realized that it called for proofing the dough for 18 hours (not ideal). Before I realized this I started making the bread at 1:00pm so I had to wake up at 5:30am to finish the bread (again, not ideal). This recipe turned out amazing even with all the extra time! I think what made it taste amazing was the addition of Apple Cider Vinegar which they claimed gave it a sourdough taste without adding sourdough starter.
For my second attempt I went the hunt for another recipe. I found one and tried it but it didn’t have a great taste so I’m not going to include the link to that one.
The third attempt I found the Dutch Oven No Knead Crusty Bread recipe from Bowl of Delicious Blog. I have found this recipe works the best for me with a little tweaking. There are only 4 ingredients (and then I add a 5th). Since I loved the addition of Apple Cider Vinegar from the first recipe, I decided to add 1 teaspoon of it into this recipe. Another change that I made is, it gave an option for Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour, I figured out that Bread Flour just tastes off to me so I will always use All Purpose Flour in my baking. This recipe calls for letting the dough rise for 2-3 hours. I have found that while having it rise for 2.5 hrs it becomes temperamental if the temperature in the room isn’t exactly warm enough (if anyone has any suggestions on how to make it more consistent, I would love to hear it).
I am excited to make even more variations of bread. I have tried the third recipe with adding dried rosemary and thyme which turned out so well. Next time I would love to add garlic into it. What are some more simple flavorings to add to a loaf of bread?
Have You tried making bread?
If so what is your favorite recipe to follow?
Hi Colleen. Have you ever heard of Sailors Bread. My father used to make it when we were kids and I have never heard of it or seen it since. (Some 40 years) now. Thanks.
I have never heard of Sailor Bread before but I believe its similar to Hardtack or Survival Bread. It would be an interesting bread to make. I hope your father’s recipe for it was a good one 🙂